Quarters: A Drabble Collection
by Destined To Repeat
Summary: Halves of halves, a study of Hikaru and Sai. Written for October 2nd, Guardian Angels' Day.
1. First

_First: Shard_

The first time Hikaru tried to place the small, black Go stone, it was on a dusty board in the back of a sketchy salon, and he didn't really want to be there. Sai was set on practicing until they got it; Hikaru, on the other hand, was less than enthused.

The stone was finally positioned, and his fingers were trying to place it correctly, but his mind was elsewhere, with money and homework and whether or not his mother would let him buy lunch at the ramen shop again.

The stone slammed onto the Go board and shattered.

Altogether, the damage wasn't bad. There was a scratch in the center of the board and the stone was destroyed, but Hikaru's finger only suffered a small gash alongside the nail. Sai was grateful that nothing else had been hurt; Hikaru swore to never hold another Go stone again.

As they made their way home, Sai was unusually quiet. It wasn't the comfortable, relaxed silence they normally shared, but a deep, grudging disappointment.

Hikaru huffed and stomped further down the street. It wasn't his fault- he'd never wanted to play Go in the first place. It was Sai's fault. And his grandfather's fault. And the Go stone's fault.

Sai followed gloomily after him, leaving his own trail of shattered black glass.


	2. Second

_Second: Swim_

The water closed in on him, sealing off the rest of the world like the door of a coffin. He tried to push himself back to the surface but his arms wouldn't work and _his legs wouldn't work and the water was everywhere and he was going to die!_

_No no please no I don't want to die please not again don't-_

He burst through the water and choked on the air that was so willingly offered- so unlike that time…

It was only after they gasped and spluttered and Hikaru demanded what was going on that Sai remembered that this wasn't his body. It was Hikaru's. Hikaru could swim. Hikaru wouldn't let him die.

He wouldn't die again—not like that.

Even after Sai was gone, Hikaru would not go swimming again.


	3. Third

_Third: Guide_

"Five minutes, Sai? You serious?"

The ancient spirit frowned, his forehead creased in speculation. "I don't know, Hikaru. You know how I am with these new-fangled gizamawhatsits."

Hikaru pushed a series of digits and watched as '2:00' appeared on the tiny screen. "Everyone knows that five minutes is too long to heat up macaroni and cheese. And besides" –he nodded at the rumbling machine- "microwaves are hardly new-fangled."

"Everything is new-fangled for me," Sai said, sounding grumpy about it.

"Except for Go," Hikaru deadpanned. He'd heard this speech before.

"Except for Go," Sai agreed with a nostalgic smile. "I have been fortunate enough to live almost three lives now and play Go in all of them." There was a silent nudge at how rarely they played Go tinting his words.

Of course, it's hard to keep your silent nudges silent when you share consciences.

"Yeah, well, you may be good at Go, but you're useless at everything else." As if to punctuate his point, the microwave beeped. Hikaru opened the door and admired his perfectly heated meal proudly.

"But, Hikaru," said Sai earnestly, "I can count on you to show me that stuff. Right?"

The teenager stopped halfway to the table. He looked up. "Yeah," he said slowly. "You can count on me."

Sai grinned. Hikaru smiled back half-heartedly and busied himself with his food.

As much as he hated to admit it, Sai had become as much part of his life as making everyday decisions. Every time he didn't know exactly what to do (like how long to microwave his lunch) he reflexively asked Sai—no matter how bad he was with "new-fangled gizamawhatsits."

The truth was that Hikaru had come to depend on his hitchhiking spirit more than he'd originally intended to. Sai was bright and honest and wise, and Hikaru knew that better than anyone. He trusted Sai with everything he had; even to the point that he couldn't imagine a life without his cheerful (and often unwanted) input.

He couldn't imagine a life without Sai's fan reaching across the board, so readily guiding his hand.


	4. Fourth

_Fourth: Grave_

"Shindo, we've been here for hours…"

Hikaru didn't look up from the gravestone, even as he finally spoke for the first time since they'd arrived at the cemetery. "…Just a few more minutes, okay?"

Akira Touya nodded. Hikaru had been standing in the same spot in front of Shusaku's grave for the entire evening, his fists clenched hard at his sides. His head was bowed in respect for the dead… just enough to conveniently veil his eyes.

This was not the attitude of a fan. This was the attitude of someone who had been left behind, someone who had intimately known Shusaku.

…Which was impossible, of course. Shusaku lived in the Edo period hundreds of years ago. Nevertheless, Akira couldn't help but notice that the other boy's fists were trembling, and his bangs were probably hiding tears—and that brought his mind right back to the mystery that was Hikaru Shindo. Sai often popped up in his theories, too, which grew steadily sillier as the evening went on.

Hikaru had told him that he would explain everything one day, but when was that? Tomorrow? Next week? Next year? All Akira knew was that he wasn't telling him anything right now, and that he was going crazy because of it.

"I wonder…" Hikaru muttered, interrupting Akira's musing, "I wonder if there's a Go board in Heaven."

"Um," said Akira.

"I hope there is. 'Cause when I get up there, Sai, we're gonna play one more game." He looked up and shook his fist at the gravestone. "And I'm gonna kick your butt!" The other visitors to the cemetery were shooting them disapproving glances, but Hikaru seemed not to notice. "You hear, you stupid—"

And Akira Touya had to drag his rival away still yelling obscenities at the Go player's grave.


	5. Fifth

_Fifth: Still_

As expected, the fight against Ko Yongha was fantastic. Although he lost, Hikaru had played extremely well; he had even managed to catch the attention of Yongha himself. Maybe it was his playing style, or maybe it was his internal obligation to defend Shusaku's name, but Ko Yongha had, somewhere along the line, realized that there was something very different about Hikaru Shindo. And much like Akira, he didn't like being left out of a secret.

However, he came much closer to the truth after one game than Akira did after years of knowing Hikaru.

"What?" Hikaru blinked, hands frozen over the Go stones he had been collecting.

"I said, what's your connection to Shusaku?" Ko repeated impatiently. "Obviously you have some sort of correlation with him. What is it?"

The boy blinked again.

"It's not that complicated, moron. What-is-Shusaku-to-you?"

Finally, comprehension flashed across his face. Hikaru gazed at the board he had been cleaning off, thinking of microwaves and broken black glass.

He had never thought of it that way. Sai had always been Sai, the one person he trusted absolutely, and the one person who knew him better than anyone. Was he a teacher? Yes, but that didn't sum up their relationship at all. A friend? Of course. But that still wasn't enough.

Hikaru looked up and smiled, a bittersweet smile that indicated something deeper. "Shusaku is my guardian angel," he replied.


End file.
